Story
Closing the loop on the North Coast
LAF Systems was started in Humboldt County by Peter Overholser and Ryley Tauzer.
20,000 tonsof food waste shipped out of the region each year
A missed opportunity
Humboldt is a long way from anywhere. Food is trucked in, and what is left over is trucked back out. Hauling it is expensive and wasteful.
Meanwhile many local farms and gardeners buy fertilizer from out of the area. We kept coming back to the same thought: the food waste and the hungry soil are in the same place.
Why fermentation
Handling food waste close to town usually runs into public concerns over smell, pests and runoff. Lactic acid fermentation avoids those problems because it happens in a sealed container.
We've tested pH levels to prove that the fermentation reaches acidity which kills harmful and putrid bacteria and we've applied the fermented fertilizer to our gardens and saw dramatic crop benefits. In 2026 we took the idea to the StartUp Humboldt pitch competition.
Who benefits
- Local businesses pay rates that compete with landfill fees and get a real sustainability story.
- Farms and gardens get a quality amendment with a small carbon footprint.
- The climate gets fewer haul trucks and less landfill methane.
Where this is going
| When | What we are doing |
|---|---|
| Now | Running a pilot with commercial food waste, wood chips and acid whey, and proving the model. |
| Next two years | Streamlining logistics, growing route by route and fitting into the regional collection system. |
| Years three to five | Enough capacity to handle Humboldt County's food waste and improve local soils at scale. |
| Long term | A model other California communities can copy. |
Get in touch
Want to be part of it?
We are looking for businesses with food waste, growers who want to trial the amendment, and partners who want to help this grow.